Lazarus Rising S4
by Bad Day at Black Rock
Summary: Dean's long awaited return
1. Chapter 1

Author's note: These fics are based on real episodes from Supernatural. The characters and plots belong to the creator and writers for the show. If you want background on the new character you can read the previous episodes.

Lazarus Rising

The ringing was earsplitting. Dean clutched his head as the windows of the old convenience store blew out around him. Just another weirdo thing to add to his _what the fuck is going on_ list. He took the change he'd found in the register and went out to the payphone, thankful to hear the buzzing when he picked up the receiver.

He called Kayla's number only to get a message saying the number was no longer in service. Next he tried Sam and got the same recording. They didn't just fall off the earth. He slid the coins back in and tried Bobby at home, he breathed a sigh of relief to hear it ringing. As he waited he opened his wallet and smiled softly when he saw Kayla's picture and pulled it out, wiped the dirt off of it and slid it back in.

"_Yeah?"_

"Bobby?"

"_Yeah?"_

"It's me."

"_Who's me?"_

"It's Dean." The receiver went dead. He looked questioningly at the phone and called the number again.

"_Who is this?"_

"Bobby listen to me."

"_This ain't funny. Call again and I'll kill you."_

Damn. He put the phone back on the receiver and glanced behind him; there was an old car parked out in front of the store. Luck was just on his side today. There wasn't any difficulty in hotwiring the thing and he quickly drove to the nearest street sign so he could get to Bobby's place. At least he knew where he was.

This whole thing was beyond his mind capabilities. Just a couple hours ago he was in the pit and now he's back, not a scratch on him, trying to pick up the pieces. He didn't know how it happened and he hoped to God it wasn't one of Alastair's tricks. He'd had enough; he'd seen enough. Maybe he was really out.


	2. Chapter 2

Bobby opened his front door and stared in shocked confusion at a man who appeared to be Dean Winchester. But it couldn't be.

"Surprise."

"I don't…"

"Me neither." He stepped into the house. "But here I am."

He let him get close before attacking him with his blade. No way in hell something was going to get the slip on him like that. Dean grabbed his wrist and spun away from him.

"Bobby it's me!"

"My ass!" He went after him again.

"Wait!" He had a puny chair for protection between them. "Your name is Robert Stephen Singer and you become a hunter after your wife was possessed by a demon, you're the closest thing I have to a father!"

He hesitated, then reached out and touched his shoulder.

"Yeah."

Bobby swiped at him again, this time Dean managed to get the blade from him. "I'm not a shapeshifter! Look, would I be able to do this, with a silver blade?" He wasn't going to make this easy on him for sure. Dean rolled up his sleeve and cut into his arm, he grit his teeth slightly as the blood ran down.

Bobby watched in silent awe. "Dean?"

"That's what I tried to tell you."

He hugged him tightly but tried to man up before he cried. "It's good to see you boy. How did this happen?"

"I don't know, I just woke up in…" water was splashed onto his face. Holy water to be exact, he spit it off to the side and wiped his face. "I'm not a demon either."

Bobby shrugged. "Can't be too careful." He brought him a towel. "What do you remember?"

"Well, I remember being some hellhound's chew toy, then lights out. I woke up six feet under." The details weren't overly important right now. "The um, the numbers for Sam and Kayla aren't working, they're um…"

Bobby sat at his desk. "They're alive, as far as I know."

"What do you mean as far as you know?"

"I haven't seen Sam in…almost three months I guess."

"You were supposed to watch after him!"

"I tried! He refused to stay and didn't want me tagging along. Kayla went with him. I've seen her a few times over the last few months, the last time was…about a month ago I guess. She talked about Sam, so I'm assuming he's okay."

"How is she?"

He shrugged with a sigh. "I guess the best word would be surviving. The last four months have been rough on all of us."

"Any idea where they are?"

"None."

Dean pieced some pieces together, something wasn't right. "Did Sam say why he didn't want me burned?"

"Said you'd need a body when he got you home somehow. That's the last thing he ever said, he got real quiet."

"Damn it Sammy." He shook his head. "He got me home ok, but whatever he did was bad mojo."

"How do you figure?"

"You should have seen the gravesite. Looked like a nuke went off, then there was this, spirit or presence or something I don't know. It blew past me in a fill up joint. Then there's this…" He pulled up his sleeve to show Bobby the scarred handprint on his shoulder.

"What in the hell…"

"Looks like a demon just yanked me out, or rode me out."

"But why?"

Because Sam is an idiot. "To hold up their end of the bargain."

It made sense. "You think Sam made a deal?"

"It's what I would have done."


	3. Chapter 3

It didn't take him long to find Sam's cell phone. Using the alias Dean knew he would use, he had the GPS turned on and found out it was in Pontiac, Illinois. What a coincidence, it was right near where Dean had been buried. He got on the road with Bobby and drove out.

The seedy motel was similar to all the others they'd stayed in, but there was just something he didn't like about Sam and Kayla being there without him. His mind was drowning in anxiety when he saw the heart on the door of the room number they were in and he knocked loudly.

He was actually relieved when some brunette answered wearing a tank top and panties. It could have been worse.

"Where is it?" The girl asked them.

"Where's…what?"

"The pizza, that it takes two guys to deliver?" She snapped.

Dean smiled. "I think we have the wrong room."

"Hey is…" Sam walked out and stopped. He looked at Dean, then at Bobby, then back at Dean. What the hell?

"Hey Sammy." Dean walked into the room, only to get a repeat greeting as Sam tried to stab him.

Bobby grabbed hold of him and tried to wrestle the knife away. "Sam it's him! I already checked him out and it's really, _really_ him."

Sam stopped and looked at him again.

"I know," Dean smiled. "I look fantastic."

The lame joke was music to his ears. Sam hugged him.

"So are you two like…together?" The girl asked from the door.

"What?" Sam looked at her. "No, he's my brother."

"Right, I just thought that…I'm gonna go."

"That would be good."

She quickly put some clothes on and headed for the door. "So call me."

"Yeah, yeah. Sure thing Cathy." Sam opened the door for her.

She looked a little hurt. "Christy."

"Right." He waved and shut the door, turning back to the prodigal brother.

Dean watched him sit down. "So what did it cost?"

"What, the girl?" He laughed. "I don't pay for it Dean."

"That's not funny. To bring me back, what did it cost? Was it just your soul? Or was it worse? I'm off the hook and you're on? You're some demon's bitch boy? I didn't want to be saved like this."

He stood. "I wish I had done it."

"Tell me the truth Sam!"

"We tried everything, that's the truth! We tried the gate, we tried the crossroads, the demons weren't dealing! We've questioned like a hundred demons! You were rotting in hell for months, for _months,_ alright? I couldn't stop it. I'm sorry it wasn't me."

Dean nodded, he actually believed him. "Was it Kayla?"

Sam shook his head. "She went to Dominic and he wouldn't even get her to hell much less bring you here. I doubt the others would go against him."

"Remind me to send him a thank you card." He noted a pair of her shoes against the wall by the door. "Where is she?"

"She's on a stakeout, we followed some demons out here. You should surprise her man, she's gonna freak out."

"Well the freaking out would be a concern, as I'm sure she'll react the same way you two did…" Dean shifted his weight and suddenly couldn't stand the anticipation. "Call her, tell her you found some new information."

Sam tried her cell. "It's turned off, but she'll be back soon."

He grimaced. "Where's the stakeout? I'll drive up there."

"She's got the Impala."

"I'll take Bobby's truck!" He breathed. "Dude, I need to see her."

Sam couldn't help but smile. "She'll be back soon, chill out. You don't want to miss her on the way there." Not to mention he was pretty sure he'd want to be near the motel room. "Why don't you take a shower? You smell like dirt."

"Hey you try digging out of your own grave."


	4. Chapter 4

Just got back and he was already bored of research. Bobby had taken off to see what he could find out and Sam was hunched over his laptop.

"Dude check this out." Dean rolled his sleeve up to show Sam the handprint.

His expression was almost exact to how Bobby's had been. "What the hell is that?"

"I have no idea, it's kind of wicked though right?"

They both heard the footsteps that stopped outside the door. Sam looked at Dean with a smirk; as cheesy as it was he was glad he got front row seats. He got to see the end of the misery.

Kayla entered the room but didn't so much as glance in their direction. She set her bag down on the floor and started taking off her shoes. "Sam that stakeout was a bust, those demons know how to stay low profile."

Dean watched her sift through her things and saw the vacant expression on her face. Completely void of emotion, just, gone.

Sam glanced to his brother. "Um, Kayla…"

"If you really think there's a group of them then we should definitely stick around I mean, they must be up to…"

"Kayla."

"What?" She looked up; Dean was standing in front of her and in a jerk reaction she staggered back, knocking over the lamp on the nightstand. "Holy shit."

He smiled. "Hey sweetheart."

"Dean." She looked to Sam for help.

Sam laughed, she didn't even know if she was dreaming. "Me and Bobby ran him through the loops, it's really him."

Dean stumbled back as she threw her arms around him but he held on to her with everything he had. He couldn't believe he was holding her again.

She was already crying, the tears ran down her face as she pulled in tighter against him. "You're actually here, oh my God Dean, I didn't know if I was going to see you again."

He closed his eyes a moment, just letting it sink in. "Sweetheart you have no idea." He leaned back and kissed her with an intense longing that instantly drowned out the painful memories lingering in the back of his mind.

Sam was a little surprised to see the tears in his brother's eyes and he smiled faintly. "I'm going to um, I'm gonna…"

"Do that." Dean stroked her hair.

He laughed quietly and grabbed his laptop before making his exit. Maybe Bobby needed some help with the research.

Kayla's fingers trembled as she ran one hand along the back of his neck; she was still trying to convince herself the warmth of his skin was reality. "I just can't believe it, I missed you so much, I can't even…"

"I'm sorry."

"You're sorry." She laughed through a muffled whimper. "You went to hell and _you're_ sorry."

"I didn't want to leave you."

She saw the painful expression in his eyes and smiled softly. "But you're back. And I haven't touched you in so long…"

"_Too_ long." He agreed and kissed her eagerly; he was fully ready to leave the last four months behind him. In a fluid, anxious motion he pulled her shirt over her head and threw it to the floor. He could have lost it then and there; just the feel of her soft skin under his hands again made his heart race and he wanted to take the time to rememorize every inch of smooth flesh.

Later. He'd take the time to rememorize and savor later. Right now he just wanted to remember what had been taken from him. Kayla was just as impatient, she was tugging at his shirt while pushing him back onto the bed. They'd have the time to discuss lost time, it just wasn't now.


	5. Chapter 5

It felt good to be back behind the wheel of his Impala. Kayla at his side, Sammy in the back seat, life was good. They were on their way to see a psychic that Bobby knew, see if they could figure out what was going on around here. To be completely honest he wasn't sure he wanted an answer.

"Sam how'd you get out that night?" He glanced in the rearview mirror. "I thought Lilith wanted to kill you."

"She tried, she couldn't."

"What do you mean she couldn't?"

"She fired this burning light at me, and it didn't leave a scratch. Like I was immune or something. I don't know who was more surprised, me or her. Anyway, she left pretty quick after that."

"What about Ruby? Where's she?"

"Dead." Sam stated quickly. "Or in hell."

_Sam._ He didn't even hesitate to lie to his brother. He didn't look at her.

"So have you been using your freaking ESP stuff?"

"No."

"You sure? You've got immunity or whatever now, you don't have anything else freaky going on?"

"No, Dean. You told me not to go down that road so I didn't go down that road. It was practically your dying wish."

It took everything in her not to spin around and look at him. That's exactly what she had told him when she was arguing against him using the psychic thing. But now he was using it for good, he was exorcising demons, why would he lie to his brother?

Sam heard her accusing thoughts echoing in his head. _I'll tell him, just let me find the right words._

She didn't respond, she wasn't ok with this. She didn't want to lie to him.

The psychic's name was Pamela Barnes. She wasn't what they expected from a psychic; Pamela was the exact opposite of the crazy old lady waving a crystal ball. Well, she might have been a little crazy but she wasn't old, she was hot and definitely had her eyes on the Winchester boys. She wanted to do a séance to get a sneak peek at whatever drug Dean out of hell.

She quickly got things set up and had them sit around a table of candles, holding hands. "Ok, I need to touch something our mystery monster touched." Pamela slid her hand under the table.

Dean's leg jerked and hit the top of the table. "Whoa! Well he didn't touch me there!"

She smirked. "My mistake."

He rolled his sleeve up and she put her hand over his handprint.

Pamela closed her eyes, focusing again. "I invoke, conjure and command you, appear unto me before this circle. I invoke, conjure and command you, appear unto me before this circle. I invoke, conjure and…"

Dean squeezed Kayla's hand and she opened her eyes to see the TV turn on, the table started shaking and she looked at Dean.

"Castiel?" They looked at Pam. "No, sorry Castiel I don't scare easily."

"Castiel?"

"It's name. It's whispering to me, warning me to turn back. I conjure and command you, show me your face."

As she repeated the command over and over the table continued to shake, more violently now. This thing had some strong mojo for sure to put up such a fight not to be seen.

"Maybe we should stop." Bobby warned.

"I almost got it. I command you, show me your face. Show me your face now!" Suddenly the candle fire raised up and she screamed, a bright light filled her eyes and they started bleeding before she fell back onto the floor. Bobby grabbed her and yelled at Sam to call an ambulance. When Pamela opened her eyes again, they had been burned out of her sockets.


	6. Chapter 6

Later that afternoon they stopped to get something to eat while Bobby was looking over Pamela in the hospital. She'd been pronounced stable and moved out of ICU to start the burn treatment. Kayla knew it was time to be completely focused but she sat next to Dean in the diner booth, her hand wrapped around the underside of his knee. She couldn't seem to stop touching him and he was definitely okay with it.

"We followed these demons to town and we still haven't found them. We should go find them, someone's gotta know something about something."

The waitress served them their food, Dean's pie in his case and pulled a chair in front of their table.

"You angling for a tip?" Dean smirked.

"I'm sorry, I thought you were looking for us." Her eyes turned black. They looked and the other patrons of the place were demons as well. One got up and locked the door. "Dean, to hell and back, aren't you a lucky duck?"

"That's me."

"So you get to just stroll out of the pit? Tell me, what makes you so special?"

"I don't know, I don't know who pulled me out."

"Right."

He paused. "You don't know either. You're just as spooked as we are, and you're looking for answers. Maybe it was some supercharged spirit, or Godzilla, or some big, bad, boss demon. Whoever it was, they _want_ me out, and they're a lot stronger than you. So go ahead, do your worst. But down come crawling to us when they show up on your doorstep with Vaseline and a fire hose."

"I'm gonna reach down your throat and rip out your lungs."

Kayla leaned forward but he held her back. He reached out and punched her in the face. When she didn't respond, he hit her again. "That's what I thought."

And they got up, and walked out. Just like that. No one stopped them.

Sam glanced back to the diner. "We're not just going to leave them there are we?"

"Hell yeah, there's three of them, probably more and we only got one knife between us."

Sam shrugged and glanced to Kayla. "We can handle them."

"Whatever kamikaze slaughtering you guys were into before is stopping now okay? I'm back. Those demons are scared and we've got something more important going on."


	7. Chapter 7

That night Kayla woke to the sound of the door shutting. She looked around; Dean was asleep next to her on the sofa with an open book, Sam was gone. With a grimace she quietly got up and went outside in time to see him getting into the Impala. She quickly jogged over to catch up.

"Sam."

He sighed and rolled the window down. "I'm going after those demons."

"By yourself?"

"You know I can."

"Yeah." She gave him a look. "When are you going to tell Dean you can?"

"I'm going to. I just, he's going to be pissed and you know that. He's not going to see the good side in it, he's not going to listen to reason. He's just going to be pissed."

He was right on that part. "It still doesn't make it right. Do _you_ think you're doing it for good?"

"Of course."

"Then you shouldn't hide it from him, hiding it makes it seem wrong."

"I'll tell him."

"I can't lie for you Sam, he just got out of a hell sentence for _you_ and I won't lie to him."

He sighed quietly, way to slam the conscience. "I'll tell him." He rolled the window up and drove down the road.

When Kayla turned back to the room, the windows were blowing out of it and crashing was heard from inside. "Shit." She ran to the room, stepping through the broken window to get inside just as Bobby came in. "Dean?"

He was on the floor clutching his head and blood was running from his hands. He didn't give a damn about the consequences, they were summoning this bastard. Now.

After he cleaned up a little Bobby drove them out to an abandoned barn and they set up shop. They covered every inch of that place with traps, symbols, talismans, everything from every religion in the world. They stocked up on stakes, silver, rock salt, iron and of course, Ruby's knife that Dean had swiped from Sam, everything they needed to kill everything they'd ever heard of. It was the unheard of they were nervous about.

Bobby recited the incantation and they waited. They were starting to wonder if anything would happen at all when suddenly the building around the started to shake.

Dean glanced up. "Could be really strong wind…"

Kayla watched the lights burst one at a time. "Thinking not."

The doors swung open slowly. A man walked onto the concrete towards them and they fired everything they had to no avail. He was immune. Not a good sign. He approached Dean without a trace of fear on his face.

"Who are you?"

"I'm the one who gripped you tight and raised you from perdition."

"Yeah, thanks for that." Dean stabbed him with Ruby's knife. Nothing. Are you serious? He pulled the knife out and dropped it to the ground.

Bobby went as him with the iron and the guy grabbed the bar in one hand, touched him on the forehead with the other and he dropped motionless to the ground. He turned and did the same thing to Kayla before turning to Dean.

"We need to talk Dean, alone." He saw the look on his face and glanced to the others. "Your friends are alive, they'll be fine."

He checked the pulses anyway. "Who are you?"

"I'm Castiel."

"I figured that. _What_ are you?"

"I'm an angel of the Lord."

"There's no such thing."

He squared off with him. "This is your problem Dean, you have no faith." Thunder echoed around him and lightning seemed to flash inside the building and Dean watched as a shadow of a wingspan spread out behind him. No freaking way this guy was for real.

"Some angel you are, you burned that poor woman's eyes out."

"I warned her. My true form can be overwhelming to humans, as well as my voice as you've found out."

"The ringing." He nodded. "Buddy next time, lower the volume."

"That was my mistake." He sounded a little disappointed. "Certain people, special people can handle my true visage. I thought you might be one of them."

He eyed him. "So what visage are you in now? Holy tax accountant?"

"This?" He raised the sides of his jacked and looked at his suit. "This is a vessel."

"You're possessing some poor bastard?"

"He prayed for this."

Dean stepped back, his eyes sweeping the floor as he rolled the information over in his head. None of it made sense. "Why would an angel rescue me from hell?"

"What's the matter?" He looked at him questioningly, like he was trying to figure out what was going on in his head. "You don't think you deserved to be saved." It sounded like a revelation. "You have work to do Dean, _God_ has work for you."

And he was gone, just like that. Kayla and Bobby climbed to their feet, looking incredibly confused.

"What the hell happened Dean?" Kayla saw that the sun was coming up and the guy was nowhere to be seen.

Dean shook his head, not really sure himself of what to say. "You're never gonna believe what this guy was dishing."


End file.
